Letter: Call Collins, other officials to stop this tax disaster

I listened to a local tax expert on the radio last Saturday afternoon, and she was most informed about the major changes that will affect many of us next year if the new tax bill is passed.

The following deductions will no longer be taken for tax writeoffs: office space within our homes, computer purchases, union dues and uniforms purchased for any jobs, moving expenses when required to relocate for a job, educational fees, tuition for required classes to maintain a job, professional license fees, $250 for teachers with class expenses, mileage for those who don’t have company cars, student loan interest and mortgage interest on a second home.

This is just a fraction of the deductions that will be wiped away starting in 2018 if we don’t do something. This year will be the last for all the above deductions if we don’t let our congressmen know we’re totally against this.

Rep. Chris Collins favors this tax reform bill. I find it appalling that he and others in Congress feel these items should be eliminated from the average American’s income tax deductions. Call his office in Lancaster or Washington, D.C. Better still, try to find out when he’ll be back in the area. I called today and was told his staff isn’t allowed to tell the public when he’s in town. Enough is enough.